Education Leaders Support the PROTECT Students Act
Senator Durbin and I introduced the PROTECT Students Act to help safeguard students, including servicemembers and veterans, and taxpayers from predatory and anti-student higher education practices and ensure that higher education meets the needs of hard-working students.
We are proud to say that our legislation is endorsed by The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), Center for American Progress (CAP), Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, New America Higher Education Initiative, The Center for Responsible Lending, Generation Progress, National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), Third Way, The Education Trust, Young Invincibles, Veterans Education Success (VES), National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), The Century Foundation, and National Student Legal Defense Network (NSLDN).
See below for what education leaders are saying about the PROTECT Students Act:
Generation Progress Executive Director, Brent J. Cohen:
Earlier this month, thousands of students were abandoned when Argosy University closed its doors, and in December, Education Corporation of America shuttered multiple schools, leaving students with few options to continue their education. This follows a long pattern of abuse from an industry that is unchecked, underregulated, and directly preying on some of the most marginalized communities. The PROTECT Students Act is a key piece of legislation that would not only bring relief to current students impacted by unfair and shady practices, but also prevent the for-profit college industry from repeating these abuses in the future. The bill would codify Department of Education rules that Secretary DeVos has tried to roll back, like gainful employment and borrower defense; close the GI Bill loophole that allows schools to enrich themselves on the backs of America’s veterans; and boost oversight. In short, the PROTECT Students Act offers commonsense and basic consumer protections for students. We commend Sen. Hassan and Sen. Durbin for offering relief to cheated students and fighting against the abuse and misrepresentation from for-profit colleges. We look forward to Congress debating this bill as a standalone piece of legislation, or as part of the Higher Education Act reauthorization.
Third Way Senior Vice President for the Social Policy & Politics Program, Lanae Erickson:
We believe students deserve a return on their investment in higher education, and taxpayers do too for the billions of dollars they spend every year. Too many students who enroll in college never get the degree they seek, leaving them with debt but no degree to show for it. And predatory institutions rake in millions in federal student aid dollars and leave students worse off than they were when they enrolled. Our lack of commitment to quality assurance in higher ed has directly led to school closures like ITT, Corinthian, and now Argosy, which leave students suddenly in a lurch with debt, no degree, and no path forward.
That’s why Congress must step up and pass the PROTECT Students Act. This bill would solidify protections for students and taxpayers, taking a big step in the right direction towards holding institutions and programs accountable for delivering on what they advertise. This package of consumer protection policies would put in place some sorely needed guardrails to ensure that students aren’t defrauded and taxpayers aren’t left footing the bill when an institution fails to do its job.
The Century Foundation Fellow, Stephanie Hall:
[…] The complicated nature of the Dream Center case has heightened scrutiny on the DeVos administration’s deregulation agenda. And policymakers are now making good on that scrutiny: today, Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation that will protect students and taxpayers from facing another Argosy or Art Institute debacle.
Hassan and Durbin’s bill, known as the Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories (PROTECT) of Students Act of 2019, proposes a bold step toward ensuring that student protections are at the forefront of any new higher education legislation, and chiefly in any comprehensive renewal of the Higher Education Act. The PROTECT Students Act proposes sweeping measures to add key student protections to the existing accountability framework for colleges and universities, with a necessary focus on for-profit colleges. […]
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